Woman says she was kicked out of gym because of her tank top

"It is all women's shirts that are depicted on the sign," she said. "There are no men's cut off t-shirts. It's not equally represented. It's very clearly directed at women."

Author:
Savannah Levins

Published:02/15/18

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- A Charlotte-area woman says she was kicked out of her gym for wearing a tank top.

“I was pretty taken aback and embarrassed and upset because it seems ridiculous,” said Elyssa Lockington, who recently signed up for the Central Piedmont Community College gym. “This is OK for high school dances, it should be OK for me to run on the treadmill in.”

Loading ...

She snapped a photo of a sign hanging in the gym that reads “no sleeveless shirts,” and posted it on Facebook.

“The sign infuriated me more,” she said. “It is all women's shirts that are depicted on the sign. There are no men's cut off t-shirts. It's not equally represented. It's very clearly directed at women.”

A CPCC spokesperson told us: “It’s for hygiene and disease control reasons. The basis for the policy is to minimize skin contact with equipment and other persons and prevent the spread of diseases such as MRSA.”

But Elyssa isn’t buying it.

“I don't see how to possibly be a sanitation issue given that it's an additional 6 inches of material total,” she said. “I can't imagine how that is endangering me or anyone else."

"The only thing I can think is that it is a forced modesty and I cannot stand that,” she added.